The Swallows Residential Care Home in Haverhill placed in special measures after Care Quality Commission inspection
A care home has been placed in special measures after watchdog inspectors identified several failings.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited The Swallows Residential Care Home, Haverhill, in January after concerns were raised about the building's security and the standards of care.
The home, which provides personal care and accommodation for older people, was found to have several issues with its overall rating dropping from requires improvement to inadequate.
Among problems, inspectors found staff didn't have clear guidance on how to support people's needs, and food management in the kitchen wasn't always hygienic despite previous concerns being raised.
They found fire safety checks were not completed routinely, and weekly checks had not taken place since September 2022 at the time of inspection.
Inspectors said that when people refused medicines or were asleep, records didn’t show staff making later attempts to give them their medicines if still appropriate.
The recruitment process was also deemed ineffective, and inspectors said this failure placed vulnerable people at risk of receiving care from staff who weren’t of good character.
The safety and leadership categories were dropped from requires improvement to inadequate, while the home's effectiveness dropped from good to inadequate. Responsive and caring categories weren’t inspected during this visit, so remain rated good.
Now in special measures, the home will be kept under review by the CQC and re-inspected at a later date to check sufficient improvements have been made.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the east of England, said: “When we inspected The Swallows Residential Care Home it was extremely disappointing to see actions we had previously told the provider to make not being put into effect.
“We found that risks weren’t being effectively managed to keep people safe, and in some cases where they had been identified, staff didn’t have the information to reduce risks to people.
“The provider had failed to ensure people were receiving care that met their individual needs. Care plans weren’t consistent, accurate or kept up to date to give staff the instructions they needed to provide person centred care
“When we return, if we aren’t assured people are receiving the care they deserve, we will not hesitate to take further action to ensure they do.”
On behalf of manager Donna Burrows, a spokesperson said: "Obviously the rating that has evidently been determined by CQC is disappointing, but in the two months since the inspection Mrs Burrows and the staff have worked very hard together as a team, assisted by the home's professional advisors, to address all the valid issues raised and swiftly restore the service to full compliance with the regulations.
"Mrs Burrows continues to receive positive feedback from the residents about their experience of living at The Swallows and Mrs Burrows is confident that the home is performing well and providing a valuable service to the local community."
